Chikyro's Last.fm Journal

My 2nd Last.fm anniversary (Sun. 06/28/09)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:33:18 +0000

Howdy how all you beings out there!

The 28h of June in 2009. Not a special day, no – it just happened to be my 2nd anniversary here on Last.fm. Actually I thought it would be on the 29th day, and now I’m a bit late as you can see… But ah, you can’t always remember everything correctly. Or, on the other hand, do everything in time. And, by the way, I just noticed that my 1st anniversary journal entry was posted on the 29th day. So I’m maintaining the tradition of being late!

So. Two years. May seem like a long time, but actually isn’t. I can’t believe I have been here for so long. I haven’t even reset my scrobbles, they can still be found here on my profile… Tokio Hotel, Lostprophets, My Chemical Romance… Everything. I just haven’t felt like getting rid of them. And why should I? Yes, yes, a little profile cleaning wouldn’t probably do any harm… I just like all those funny skeletons in my closet, that’s it. I have listened to them once, and they’re all parts of my musical history, so I’ll let them be there.

Well, I have had a great musical year. Simply great! The summer of 2008 has probably been the best musical period of my life so far. And the great enthusiasm didn’t cease as autumn leaves started to fall again, no… I found more and more interesting bands, artists and genres to check out. Music is a one huge ocean. Better not drown.

Anyway… During this year, there has been one genre that has formed a big part of my music taste. And it is…power metal. No laughters, please, ha-ha!

In the summer of 2008, my friend introduced me to this great genre. I became hooked immediately. A door opened in front of my eyes, and I saw a completely new world full of possibilities and paths to follow. I saw glorious warriors, enchanted lands, evergreen fields, immortal legends… Like I had come home after a long journey. I fell in love. Yep, I do know that many people tend to look down on anything related to power metal. But I couldn’t care less. And all those genre thingies aren’t important, after all – it’s music that matters, nothing else.

Okay… Why does power metal please me, then? I don’t really know. I only know that I like good stories, whether they’re dealing with fantasy subjects or war or…gardening. I love melodies and guitar solos, and I love epic masterpieces. Power metal must be one of my personal full strikes or something, ha-ha. And…actually I don’t even want to explain these things, so…let’s move on, shall we?

Thinking about my past year on Last.fm, many paths seem to lead to one band: Hammerfall. Another personal full strike, I’d say, and definitely the most remarkable group out of all those power metal (or simply heavy metal, like HammerFall guys say) bands I’ve fallen in love with during the past year. I can tell you that HammerFall has become one of my favourite bands ever. Since this friend of mine made me listen to Renegade, I’ve… Well, no, Renegade didn’t really impress me – but this friend somehow decided to send me all the HammerFall studio albums, and I couldn’t help falling in love. This is, however, another story, you can read it here if you’re interested.

So… In the summer of 2008, I found a band that soon became one of my favourites. What else? Well, I found the melody of my life. I found In Memoriam, and its creator, Stefan Elmgren. What a great guitar player! In Memoriam was the second HammerFall track I heard, and the one that got me into the band. It’s a massive guitar-driven instrumental song with a powerful, swinging melody that leads its listener through an unbelievable journey. It inspires me time after time, and it… I can’t get enough of it. I can’t.

Have you ever heard a perfect song? A song that strikes you like an arrow (quoting HammerFall’s Stronger Than All, yup), bangs like a lightning? Well, I have never been banged by a lightning or an arrow. But I have heard a song like that. I would change nothing in In Memoriam. Nothing. Not a single chord, not a single tone. I love it just the way it is. My former art teacher once said she believed everyone had a completely perfect song for them somewhere waiting; they just had to find it. I agree. And I believe I have found my song.

What a year indeed… I found a band that pleases me in every possible way – at least almost –, and I found the melody of my life. But that’s not all, no… I also found a bunch of other great power metal bands, such as Cryonic Temple, Rhapsody of Fire, Iced Earth, Dream Evil, Helloween and Sabaton. I especially fell in love with Rhapsody’s epic masterpieces and great symphonic melodies. Sometimes I still find myself wondering how such brilliant music can exist on this planet. Never Forgotten Heroes is, in my opinion, one of the best pieces of music ever written. Period.

And then there is Cryonic Temple… Yes. What an incredibly great band! Just so underrated, so terribly underrated… Seriously, I love Cryonic Temple, and I want people to get to know them. It’s just…power metal at its best, really! Feel free to check them out and spread the word. I don’t want to advertise or anything, it’s just so strange that they haven’t gained more publicity… Such a great, great band! Steel Against Steel, Rivers of Pain and Metal Brothers are good examples, I think.

Okay. Let’s end this power metal section now, shall we? I mean, I actually didn’t listen to power metal, only, ha-ha… I also found Mr. Mark Knopfler and his band Dire Straits. And fell in love with both. I must have listened to Knopfler’s album Sailing To Philadelphia hundreds of times, ha-ha… It’s just so great. That man must be a genius or something. What It Is, for example, and Silvertown Blues. And Sailing To Philadelphia, oh yeah! Dire Straits, too, what an awesome band. I’m in love with Brothers in Arms. Telegraph Road is a complete masterpiece as well. Just…great!

There has also been a lot of Gary Moore during the past year, yes. Another great artist my father liked. I have also found these immortal classics he seemed to love: Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, and Deep Purple. The last one didn’t keep my interest for very long, but I really like Led Zeppelin. And Uriah Heep, probably the most hilarious band ever (if you don’t count Gamma Ray, which, by the way, seems absolutely loveable)! Blood Red Roses is simply great.

I could name you a bunch of other bands, too, but I guess that the above-mentioned groups are enough to show you how pleasant my year was, musically. Let’s move on and talk about gigs!

I attended one concert and one festival: a Dynasty Tour 2008 show in October, and Sauna Open Air 2009 in June. The Dynasty Tour performers were The Rasmus, Mariko, and Von Hertzen Brothers. It was a great concert, and I had a very good time there! You can read my review here.

Sauna Open Air is an annual Finnish metal festival, and the reason why I fought my way there was HammerFall. I had a change to see them live, and it just… Well, it was the first festival experience of my life, and also one of my best experiences ever. The bands I saw live were Sparzanza, Poisonblack and HammerFall. And yeah, there was a little bit of Finntroll, too… We had a great, great time, me and my brother! My review with pics can be found here.

So, if you read between the lines, you should find out that my musical year has been quite nice. I’ve got to know many, many great artists and bands, and I’ve been enjoying their music a lot. I wouldn’t probably change a thing. This has been a great year, and I’m already looking forward to finding more interesting bands, songs and genres. And people. Meeting new people here on Last.fm is always pleasant – and, of course, keeping in touch with the “old” ones is awesome, too.

One more thing…

Keep the flame burning!

Thanks for everything!

Janita Nahkala AKA Chikyro

Review for Sauna Open Air 2009 @ Eteläpuisto, TRE, FI (Sat. 06/06/09)

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:26:54 +0000

“I say: ‘Let the hammer –’”
“– FAAAAALL!”
“That’s it. Do you want the hammer to fall?”
“YEAAAAAH!”
“I say: ‘Let the hammer –’”
“– FAAAAALL!”
“Let’s stick of the ending, the ‘fall’. Make it as long as possible, like ‘faaaaaaaaaal’. Let the hammer –”
“– FAAAAAAAAAALL!”
“You fucking rule! Let the hammer –”
“– FAAAAAAAAAALL!”

And the hammer…it fell.

On the 6th of June in 2009, Hammerfall had a show at an annual Finnish metal festival called “Sauna Open Air”. They hadn't performed in Finland for four years, and people had surely waited for that little concert. When I heard about it, I… Well, let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?

I’m a huge HammerFall supporter (I’m avoiding the expression “fan”, he-he), but still quite a new one. I discovered the band in the summer of 2008. I was somewhat unlucky when it came to attending concerts back then, and to be honest, my only gig was that Dynasty Tour show featuring two bands and one artist (which were The Rasmus, Von Hertzen Brothers and Mariko, in case you are interested). During that year, I got used to my miserable luck.

So, it was a complete shock when I read about that festival show – I had just returned from Egypt, I was very tired, I couldn’t think of anything, and…there it was, an announcement on HammerFall’s official website. I became enthusiastic at first, but after that short happy moment, got depressed. Right away, sad but true. I was just stuck on that stupid and too common way of thinking, like everything is too hard, everything requires too much work and effort… I thought I would never be able to go to that festival happening, like I hadn’t been able to attend 30 Seconds to Mars’ concert here in Finland last June. Now I’m glad to state that I was wrong.

Problems solved themselves, one after another, and I finally ordered two tickets. My brother Jaakko (Forthehead here on Last.fm) promised to go with me even though he is not into that kind of music, and I am grateful for that. Our relatives who live in Tampere promised to lodge us for one night. I am grateful for that, too. Everything just seemed to work out all right in the end.

So, we drove to Tampere on the 6th of June: me, Jaakko, our mother and her fiancé. The latter two left us right next to Eteläpuisto where the festival took place. We passed the security check and were let in. We entered the area, and… Well, it was all new for us; we didn’t really know what to do first. There were some interesting people wandering around, and I noticed something important: all metalheads are at least ten times taller than their hair, and because their hair is so long, they must be extremely tall. Ha-ha, just kidding, I don’t believe in stereotypes anyway…

We walked through the merchandising area, but didn’t buy anything yet. And then we just drifted into the audience that stood in front of the mainstage. Profane Omen had just finished playing, and the next band to perform was Sparzanza. Jaakko and I didn’t know anything about them, we hadn’t even heard the name before that day… But to be honest, it somehow reminded me of Sparta. And it still does. Don’t laugh, ha-ha!

Photo taken by Jaakko

When their singer said “Kiitos” (which is Finnish and stands for “thank you”, in case you didn’t know that) after the first song, I thought they were Finns. Seriously. It sounded just so native. But then he introduced the band to us, and it dawned on me that they were actually Swedes. Great. They seemed to be very funny guys, and I really enjoyed the show. Despite the fact that I hadn’t probably heard a song by them, it wasn’t boring to stand there and listen… Not at all! They claimed that the only phrase you need when you come to Finland is this: “Mitä vittua hirvenkyrpä!” And no, I’m not going to translate that one… You can think about it by yourselves…

I didn’t recognise any of the songs that they played, so I probably hadn’t heard them before. Anyway, I am able to name you one song: My World Of Sin. It exists as a full track here on Last.fm, so feel free to check it out. It’s a great, powerful song, really. It even made me post in the guestbook of Sparzanza’s official website.

Sparzanza quit playing half past 3 PM, and it was announced that the HammerFall guys would soon be in a special Meet N' Greet tent. I dragged Jaakko into the queue with me, and started to be nervous. He promised to be my official photographer (and I considered him as a minder, ha-ha). There were two drunken guys queueing right behind us, Sparzanza people like they said, and we had a nice little talk with them. They didn’t even know why they were standing in the queue… However, the other guy taught Jaakko how to act like a real minder. They said he should punch everyone who would refuse to shout “FALL!” during HammerFall’s show later at evening right on the face (like “Why didn’t you shout ‘FALL!’ – shame on you!”). Jaakko didn’t do that, but I guess it was a useful piece of advice anyway…

So, finally it was my turn to meet and greet HammerFall. The whole band was there. I got their autographs, and I can tell you…it was one of the best moments of my life for sure. And the great photographer Jaakko, he managed to capture that magical moment! I was so happy when I saw those photos and held that SOA 2009 postcard, I can’t tell you how happy I was…

Photo taken by Jaakko

Photo taken by me

Well, after attending HammerFall’s signing session we decided to leave the stage and go back to the merchandising area. Jaakko bought a nice Mötley Crüe T-shirt, even though he hadn’t listened to them at all, and I asked for an S-sized No Sacrifice, No Victory shirt, but there weren’t any. However, there was an M-sized Any Tour Necessary shirt, and I decided to spend my money on it. I knew it would be too big for me, and I knew I hadn’t even attended any of the tour’s gigs, but I just wanted a memento of the first festival happening of my life. Enough excuses, huh?

Photo taken by Jaakko himself

After shopping we decided to eat something. We didn’t really consider any possibilities; Chinese food sounded delicious enough. And it was. We both paid for noodles with chicken and vegetables. Yummy!

Photo taken by Jaakko

It was almost 5 PM when we finished our meals, so we quickly snuck into the audience. A Finnish band called “Poisonblack” was playing. I have to admit: I know nothing about them, and they didn’t sound very marvellous – but we only heard the very last songs, so naturally I’m not allowed to judge.

Photo taken by Jaakko

We had to wait an hour for HammerFall’s turn. We weren’t in the first row, but we surely weren’t in the last one either. We were…rather close to the stage, I’d say, and we got a bit closer during the show. My height is only about 147.5 centimetres, so I had to stand on my toes all the time, and keep my neck in a pretty bad position. I could barely walk after the last song. But hey, it was definitely worth it – and I didn’t even suffer from any muscular aches next morning, yay!

6 PM HammerFall finally took over the stage. I was immediately overwhelmed by the atmosphere. I just…jumped, jumped and screamed like hell. I actually accidentally recorded a little part of Let the Hammer Fall (yes, that italic conversation between Joacim and the crowd in the beginning of this review – I took it from that little recording), and I heard myself screaming and…it was awful. Singing is actually one of my dear hobbies – but not singing in a crowd, obviously, ha-ha. I was just crying in falsetto, really. Terrible. I have to pity those who were standing next to me.

Anyway… What was I supposed to say? Well, HammerFall. They started by playing a great song from their 5th studio album called “Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken”. The song was, of course…Blood Bound. I found it somewhat surprising, since I was completely prepared for Any Means Necessary (even though I knew that they had started their latest concerts with Blood Bound). Ha-ha. However, Blood Bound was a great opening track, and it really seemed to mesmerise the whole audience, whether there were more Mötley Crüe or HammerFall people. Or both. Or neither.

Photo taken by me

Blood Bound was followed by Renegade, a beloved song from the album with the same name. It was the first HammerFall track I ever heard, by the way. Some background information. Then the band performed us a song from the new album – Hallowed Be My Name. I was very, very happy to hear that one live! I mean, many people have ran it down, but I like it a lot. And it turned out to be a great live song!

Before Last Man Standing, there was an intro. After the show I thought it was The Abyss, but then I changed my mind, and was completely sure it was Lore Of The Arcane. Well, I later communicated with a person who stood next to me during the show (HunksOssi here on Last.fm), and he said it was The Abyss. I assume it really was.

Before the summer HammerFall had stated that there would be some big surprises on their setlist. I have to admit that I wasn’t very surprised… I was impressed, but not particularly surprised, if you know what I mean. There were no pyrotechnics, there was no special setup… But there was Glory to the Brave, which was the hugest surprise for me. Of course I knew that they had been playing it a lot during their career, but I still didn’t think they would play it this time. Well, they did. And those were probably the most special minutes for me during the entire show. Glory to the Brave owns a little corner in my heart; I’m even writing a story based on its lyrics. It’s just… Well, I sang along with Joacim and other people as well as I could, and there truly was something magical in that performance. That’s all there is to it.

Photo taken by me

Life Is Now, another track from the new album, surprised me, too. I wasn’t expecting that one to come. It was such a funny song like it always is – just so happy and…Helloweenish, if you know what I mean. Pure Helloween, except for the vocals. It was a nice, cheery song to hear among all the serious ones!

We were also performed Heeding the Call, which seems to be many HammerFall supporters’ favourite. I actually don’t like it that much, and Legacy of Kings definitely isn’t the best HammerFall album in my opinion, but as a live song, Heeding the Call is awesome. I love the acoustic version of it, by the way!

Well, the set included also two great sing along songs… Those were Any Means Necessary and Riders of the Storm. The latter was the only song to be performed from my favourite HammerFall album, Crimson Thunder. But…actually it wasn’t! There was an expected surprise in the end, you know. What would life be like with no surprises?

Anyway, I completely mixed up the lyrics during Any Means Necessary… I should have sung “KILL, WIN, LIVE, DIE!” And what did I do? I screamed. Just…screamed. Once again. The person standing on my right side glanced at me angrily. I guess I deserved that, ha-ha.

Well, that above-mentioned surprise was Hearts on Fire. They sort of performed it as an encore. And I can tell you: it really set a fire into my heart, and into others’ hearts as well – at least I hope so. We were jumping and screaming the lyrics (I even forgot them since I was so enthusiastic, shame on me), and, again, I was extremely happy. It started to drizzle during the song, and it made the atmosphere even more magnificent. Hearts on fire, hearts on fire, burning, burning with desire…

The show came to its end because HammerFall had to give way to Mötley Crüe. Jaakko and I did the same thing, we gave way to Mötley supporters. It was very hard to push ourselves through the thronging crowd… But I’m glad we did it anyway. It wouldn’t have been very nice to get stuck there in the middle of the Mötley people, I suppose.

We walked through the merchandising area once more (well, in my case it was more about stumbling), and Jaakko bought a fancy SOA zip hoodie. Then, after a long but gratifying day…we left the festival area while Finntroll was playing us some nice background music.

HammerFall had a great show. I’m sure I will never ever forget about it. But the best part of the gig was Joacim’s promise: HammerFall won’t let us wait other four years until they come back to Finland. And when they come, they will give us a big, complete show with all the props and other inclusions.

I hope he’s a man who won’t take his words back.

Photo taken by Jaakko

Review written by Janita Nahkala AKA Chikyro

Feedback and comments are greatly appreciated!

My top 20 artists & their most remarkable songs (... for me)

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:18:29 +0000

Couldn’t oppose the temptation, I finally had to do this. Well, it’s just a single journal entry after all... so, here’s a list. Erm... read it?

***

1. 30 Seconds to Mars
First song I heard: The Kill
Song that made me fall in love: The Kill
All time favourite: Oblivion
Current favourite: Valhalla

2. Hammerfall
First song I heard: Renegade
Song that made me fall in love: In Memoriam
All time favourite: In Memoriam
Current favourite: Restless Soul

3. Rhapsody of Fire
First song I heard: Never Forgotten Heroes
Song that made me fall in love: Never Forgotten Heroes
All time favourite: Never Forgotten Heroes
Current favourite: Symphony of Enchanted Lands

4. Muse
First song I heard: Starlight
Song that made me fall in love: Knights of Cydonia
All time favourite: Bliss
Current favourite: – (haven’t listened to them for quite a long time now)

5. Coldplay
First song I heard: Fix You
Song that made me fall in love: Speed of Sound
All time favourite: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Current favourite: In My Place

6. My Chemical Romance
First song I heard: Helena
Song that made me fall in love: House of Wolves
All time favourite: Cemetery Drive
Current favourite: – (haven’t listened to them in ages)

7. Pink Floyd
First song I heard: Julia Dream
Song that made me fall in love: Julia Dream
All time favourite: Comfortably Numb
Current favourite: Atom Heart Mother

8. Cryonic Temple
First song I heard: Heavy Metal Never Dies
Song that made me fall in love: Steel Against Steel
All time favourite: Steel Against Steel
Current favourite: Mercenaries of Metal

9. In Flames
First song I heard: Only for the Weak
Song that made me fall in love: Only for the Weak
All time favourite: Metaphor
Current favourite: I'm the Highway

10. Soul Asylum
First song I heard: Runaway Train
Song that made me fall in love: Runaway Train
All time favourite: Runaway Train
Current favourite: I Did My Best

11. Helloween
First song I heard: I Want Out
Song that made me fall in love: I Want Out
All time favourite: I Want Out
Current favourite: Victim Of Fate

12. Jason Hayes
First song I heard: Main Title: Legends of Azeroth
Song that made me fall in love: Main Title: Legends of Azeroth
All time favourite: Main Title: Legends of Azeroth
Current favourite: Tavern

13. Nightwish
First song I heard: Nemo
Song that made me fall in love: Creek Mary's Blood
All time favourite: Ghost Love Score
Current favourite: Meadows of Heaven

14. Gustavo Santaolalla
First song I heard: The Wings
Song that made me fall in love: The Wings
All time favourite: The Wings
Current favourite: The Wings

15. Poets of the Fall
First song I heard: Carnival of Rust
Song that made me fall in love: Carnival of Rust
All time favourite: All the Way / 4U
Current favourite: King of Fools

16. Wigwam
First song I heard: Must Be the Devil
Song that made me fall in love: Luulosairas
All time favourite: Luulosairas
Current favourite: Titans Wheel

17. Verenpisara
First song I heard: Aamuisin kun sataa
Song that made me fall in love: Helpoin tie
All time favourite: Aamuisin kun sataa
Current favourite: Harvoin

18. Iced Earth
First song I heard: When The Eagle Cries
Song that made me fall in love: When The Eagle Cries
All time favourite: When The Eagle Cries
Current favourite: Blessed Are You

19. Keane
First song I heard: Bedshaped
Song that made me fall in love: Somewhere Only We Know
All time favourite: Somewhere Only We Know
Current favourite: Nothing In My Way

20. The Rasmus
First song I heard: – (cannot remember, cannot stop time flying, it was like... ten years ago?)
Song that made me fall in love: Sophia
All time favourite: Not Like the Other Girls (... but I seriously cannot choose one, I’m just incapable when it comes to Rasmus)
Current favourite: Lost and Lonely

***

... done! It was a very difficult task for some reason. But at least it’s done now.

Thanks for dropping by!

~ Chikyro

Review for Dynasty Tour 2008 @ Paviljonki, JKL, FI

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:38:37 +0000

Yes, I attended a Dynasty Tour event in Jyväskylä, Finland. It was a typical rainy Thursday, October 9th, year 2008 which was supposed to be my lucky year but which actually hasn’t been the happiest time of my life... This Dynasty Tour show was my first gig this year. I’ve been having bad luck. The confirmation camp and my mother spoiled the opportunity to see 30 Seconds to Mars live when they finally came to this little forgotten land and I didn’t even have the chance to see Kill Hannah. Or In Flames, which annoyed me the most even though I’m not really a big fan of them.

Anyway, my mother decided to be fair and replaced me all those lost concerts. She bought me two tickets for the Dynasty Tour show in our neighbouring town, Jyväskylä. Oh how happy I was due to that nice little surprise... I had seen Mariko live once with Kwan, Von Hertzen Brothers was totally new name for me and and The Rasmus... well, I attended their gig three years ago in that same town, on that same stage, even in the same month, and I can tell you that I was a frigging huge fan when I was younger. I discovered them when I was still in kindergarten and since then, I have been a loyal supporter. But after that wonderful gig experience my enthusiasm kind of vanished. It wasn’t because of their music... it was... well I don’t really know what happened. Something.

Now I couldn’t throw away the opportunity to see my ex-favourite band live again. They had just released their seventh record, Black Roses, and it would have been very idiotic to miss the other artists, too. I asked my friend Maria to go with me, and she consented. We had a very good time together, as usual, and the show was... well, the show was great, as usual when there’s Rasmus around. I had really fallen in love with their new album and after that night, I learnt to like it even more. If it’s possible. I never consider their sixth output Hide from the Sun musically bad, but Black Roses was still a nice return.

We went waiting for the doors to open at five o’clock. There were slightly over twenty or thirty people standing in a queue ahead of us. Some guys had slept in their sleeping bags and they had lots of stuff with them. Someone was running all the time from Paviljonki to somewhere and then back again, and some VIP people with backstage passes were let inside while the ordinary hillbillies (we) were shivering in the cold sprinkle. We guessed that those runners were picking up some food or other important items. The doors were opened fifteen minutes late and by that, the queue had grown pretty much.

Maria and I tried to get straight to the concert hall but we were stopped by the guards who stood at the entrance–they wanted Maria to leave her overcoat to the cloakroom. It took its time since everyone had gone right away to deliver their things (fortunately I had dashed my coat into my bag), and as a result, we were standing in the second row which was absolutely the most obnoxious place to be in ‘cause we had to decide whether we wanted to be on a stand that was hardly broad enough for the front row people or on the “real” floor. We decided to try to keep ourselves on the stand even though we were being hit by elbows all the time. And those Rasmus fans in front of us... well, they weren’t my favourites, even though one of them did have a very nice Black Roses shirt.

Little by little the hall filled. We were forced to wait more than an hour even though the concert should have started at seven o’clock. We tried to spend our time, we sat and complained about how difficult it was to go and buy some liquorice when there were only two of us, and naturally both of us couldn’t leave at the same time ‘cause someone was needed to push the hostile intruders away which was a challenging task for one person. Finally we got a pouch of apple liquorices and that made the waiting a little more bearable. Well, we almost ate them all before the first performer...

Mariko’s show started with sickening bright pink letters that blinded the whole audience and announced very clearly whose turn it was to take over the empty stage. Before the band members were seen, they turned some kind of a weird tape on. Then the players came and we died because of boredom. I mean... no, I’m not criticising anyone who likes Mariko, remember that I was a fan of Kwan during Dynasty, but I just don’t like her music or appearance. I do understand if someone does.

The bass player was in front of us and most of the time I just observed his fingers plucking. Of course I also clapped with the others, I cannot understand people who just stand like they are made of stone when they listen to music... even if they don’t like the band. I recognised only two songs, Unstoppable and the last one they played, Time Has Come. It seems to be her biggest hit here in Finland so far. And I’ve got to admit that it made me move a bit... pretty catchy song. Though I’d still rather stick to power metal!

So, Mariko wished us a good night and left the stage. The spotlights went off and they turned on some easy-listening music again. Luckily the crowd became a bit thinner so Maria and I could sit down. I took off my trustworthy Adidas shoes of eighties and decided to be without them for the rest of the concert. It was Von Hertzen Brothers’ turn next but they really let us wait... when their instruments and other things eventually were in order, the music stopped and the yellow band logo was put on a deep cyan background. Some kind of an intro started and the band members got on the stage one at a time (one of the brothers was in front of us, he sang and played keyboards and bass though it looked like he was playing guitar). The singer raised his hands in the air and I couldn’t help doing the same. The audience was much more awake this time, but the fans were pretty weird people–they were swaying to the music and doing some strange marks with their fingers. They seemed to completely live in their own world.

What did I know about the band when they started to play? Nothing. My brother (quuquu) had only told me that they suck, but afterwards he revealed that he hadn’t heard a song by them. How typical. Well, I soon built my own impression... first of all, they really seemed to know how to take over the audience. The singer was a charismatic guy, he smiled a lot and paid regard to us and was pleasant to look at. Their playing was more energetic than Mariko’s or Rasmus’, they just didn’t talk so much. And I... I fell in love with their music immediately! They played progressive rock, and that really hadn’t even occurred to my me before the gig... how surprising. Their songs were long and varying in a good way and very difficult to separate from each other. They also did some interesting things with guitar. I don’t know the songs by name... only the last one, it was called The Willing Victim like they said. I need to get their album.

The brothers left the stage together with the drummer and the keyboardist whose dreads were long as hell and there was more dying waiting in our schedule... we sat down again and ate the final liquorice meanwhile Rasmus’ means and instruments were being set up, and listened to two mothers (don’t ask me how I knew they were both mothers–they just sounded like they had got to know each other in a maternity or a place like that) who were horrified about the backs of the roadies and their state. I laid my bag down on my shoes and stood on the structure to see better over the front row people’s heads and to get a little softer base under my feet. It was really needed...

After a while, people tried to get The Rasmus on stage and started to shout and clap their hands, and I was really surprised when the lightning suddenly turned into violet and the band came and started their show with the first single from Black Roses, Livin' in a World Without You. I was very, very happy to hear that song first. I mean... Mariko started with some never heard stuff, ended with her biggest hit, and it’s... well, just think about it and you will find out what I mean. Rasmus didn’t apologise for its existence, they played a song that had been hammering in people’s head at least for the three last weeks and that’s all there is to it.

Those above-mentioned mothers were very confused when Rasmus mesmerised their audience. And they were not the only ones. For the first time (now this is an important thing) I felt like I belonged to something bigger. I didn’t have that kind of impressions when I queued outside and saw all those true fans ahead of me... I didn’t have that feeling when I first met the other future confirmation leaders earlier this autumn. But I had it when I saw my ex-favourite band live, I had it rushing in my ears and beating in my heart when I yelled as loudly as I could and jumped with the others at the same time. I was able to remember all the lyrics word for word and I was just so happy when I saw Pauli playing his Dynasty guitar in front of me.

Does it happen sometimes? Yeah, it does. I was happy without a proper reason. And I was perfectly fine with that, so actually we could go on now before I come up with some other stupid ideas not related to our topic.

Okay... The Rasmus. It was good to see the old faces again. Eero and Lauri both spoke quite much, Lauri said he had a lot of lovely memories from Jyväskylä. They played Ten Black Roses, Ghost of Love, Justify and Your Forgiveness from their new record and it was great to hear them all. The beginning of Justify sounded somehow weird though... but then it turned into an unforgettable live song. I was glad to hear Chill and F-F-F-Falling from Into, they lightened the atmosphere conveniently. And when Lauri took his acoustic guitar, it was plain for all of us what we were going to hear next... Sail Away. They also performed No Fear from the album Hide from the Sun. First Day of My Life was the only song they played from Dead Letters, along with In The Shadows that was performed at the end of the show.

People really got crazy. I almost had to fight to stay in my contemporary place, and unfortunately Maria was dropped into the third row. Breathing was hard and I particularly had to focus on jumping in order to avoid stepping on others’ feet. Before In the Shadows I thought I was going to give up the ghost... man, it was great.

In the middle of the set, someone from the audience shouted that she wanted to hear Funky Jam from their debut album, Peep. The band obeyed and played some quick parts of it along with Playboys (from their second album with the same title) and Ghostbusters that was drowned by people’s voices. Lauri said that Jyväskylä did a shouting-record at it... yeah, I guess we rocked quite well. I’m still from Äänekoski, but it’s like less than forty kilometres away, so... anyway, I loved the fact that they also performed us Liquid which is an old song, too.

Like I said, I remember that the show ended with In the Shadows, but I’m not sure about that. However, we shouted the band back and they sang us Rakkauslaulu. The bassist Eero played the drums and Lauri played bass while Pauli stayed with his guitar and the drummer Aki was somewhere out of sight. The very last song they performed as an encore was Immortal from the album Hide from the Sun, and for me, that was the best performance ever. Immortal is a powerful, unique song which perfectly set a full stop for that memorable night.

The Rasmus left the stage once and for all and Radiohead’s lovely song No Surprises was turned on. The crowd started to lounge across the hall. I gathered my things and dragged behind without shoes, singing “No alarms and no surprises...” My socks were dirty, there was a cut on my lower lip, my feet were sore and my back was aching and I couldn’t say a word and I was also very thirsty since I had drunk like two glasses of water during the whole day, but I was happy, happy after all. There we stood, outside in the pouring rain, and we were happy.

And now I’m more than happy to end this too long and disoriented review. I wrote it last night in the wee hours so don’t blame me for its oddity...

Thank you for reading, I appreciate it! o/

The summer of 2008–time to let the hammer fall

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 18:25:00 +0000

This summer has definitely been the best summer I’ve gone through and I’m not joking while saying that, not at all. I’m sure that the summer of 2008 will be preserved, I’m sure that it will always rest somewhere in my mind even if I lose all the other summers.

I didn’t do anything special, I’ve actually spent many busier holidays, but during this one, many wonderful things happened and they automatically turned into unforgettable. Most of all, they were related to music, and that’s what I’m writing about, that’s why I had to post a new journal entry. I don’t know, perhaps I’m still concerned about forgetting–I just need to remember what was the very first HammerFall song I heard. I need to. At least I want to.

This all began when my good friend Tuomas (Ellemere, though his scrobbling doesn’t work) signed up here on Last.fm. In his charts I noticed some very interesting artists that I had never heard about before. The first band that I became aware of was in one of his weekly charts. I paid attention to them because there were so glorious colours in the picture of theirs. This band was Iced Earth. The other bands that I discovered were Rhapsody of Fire, Cryonic Temple, Sabaton and, above all... Hammerfall. What I want to tell you is the story about HammerFall, how I discovered their music, how I fell in love with them and how they became one of the thresholds of my music taste.

I attended a confirmation camp this summer. It was a wonderful experience and when I came back home, me and Tume had lots of Messenger discussions about life and people and music and everything. There weren’t any free tracks in HammerFall’s Last.fm profile, so one night, he sent me a song named Renegade so that I could see if I liked their music as he did. I was already aware of the fact that we liked similar bands so I naturally expected good stuff.

I can tell you... I wasn’t disappointed. I listened to it many times and gave Tume some positive feedback. Those who are personally acquainted with Tume know that he’s a very open-handed person who probably likes to share music, and as you can guess now, he wanted to send me all the studio albums of HammerFall since I was interested and he had them on his computer.

It was very late at the wee hours and I wanted to go to sleep so I only copied the songs into my Media Player library in order to come back later. My plans were, however, destroyed when I noticed a song named In Memoriam–I hadn’t got a choice, the title was so interesting. It was an instrumental song and I can’t even start telling you how much I loved it since that memorable moment. I loved it from the bottom of my heart, I loved it more than anything in this creation we’re walking in. You know what happens when you hear something so sweet? I’m not the right person to tell you but it’s definitely worth experiencing once in a lifetime.

After listening to it, I noticed another nice title, I Believe. Once again, I didn’t have a choice, and gosh how I fell in love! It seems like HammerFall has a skill of writing overly great songs, doesn’t it? Well, I picked up one more song, The Fallen One, and this time... this time I almost started to cry. Overly beautiful, that’s what it is and that’s what it does, make people blow up. It’s quite funny that music is probably the only thing in this world that is able to make me cry, isn’t it?

I had to go to sleep eventually, since my eyelids were closing by force. I didn’t divine that soon I would dream of HammerFall’s gig where I was in the front row, I didn’t divine that soon I would tell about this dream in their guestbook, I didn’t divine that soon I would hope it was a premonition. When I woke up very late as I always do, I didn’t divine that I would afterwards consider that day the day HammerFall took me, took me completely.

At the end of that memorable day all I could do was promise myself that I would never ever stop thanking Tume. He is the one who got me into HammerFall, he is the one I should thank for the rest of my life. He sent me the songs and the rest of this entire mess was just good luck, although I do have that mystic ability which makes me listen to the right songs at the right time. I definitely played myself something memorable that night... I didn’t divine that soon In Memoriam would be my all time favorite song, above all those other lovely songs of the other lovely bands.

So what do I actually see in HammerFall? I see evergreen fields, I see unchained melodies, I see the sleeping dragon; the sleeping danger that isn’t able to harm me, I see dark and bottomless lakes, I see bright skies with dream-shaped clouds, I see something totally new. To say it less complexly... I’m in love.

This summer has been worth living and maybe that’s why I wrote something that I would like to to dedicate to my friend Tuomas. I am grateful. It’s not only this... just wanted to thank you for being there for me.

[ugh, the poem was so cheesy and terrible, i had to delete it! :D unfortunately, my poetical skills haven't improved to this day // 2012]

Thank you for reading so far.

I usually don’t tell people to leave comment, but if you feel like doing so, I would love to hear your stories and thoughts about falling in love with HammerFall or some other band.;)

~ Chikyro

My current iPod playlist (a challenge from 5anna)

Sat, 5 Jul 2008 23:53:57 +0000

Okay now... I received a challenge from Ophelia (5anna, check out her list, too). I’m supposed to make a list with some of my current favorite songs in it (or songs that I’m somehow into right now, however you want it to be said), so let’s see what I’ve got here in my iPod...

***

01. 30 Seconds to Mars – Oblivion (Acoustic)
02. Arctic Monkeys – 505
03. Breaking Benjamin – The Diary Of Jane
04. Cryonic Temple – Steel Against Steel
05. Coldplay – 42
06. David Bowie – I'm Afraid of Americans
07. Guano Apes – Get Busy
08. Hammerfall – In Memoriam
09. Iced Earth – The Reckoning (Don't Tread On Me)
10. In Flames – Touch of Red
11. Iron Maiden – Rainmaker
12. Kill Hannah – 10 More Minutes With You
13. The Mars Volta – Vermicide
14. Metallica – Nothing Else Matters
15. Mew – An Envoy To The Open Fields
16. Nightwish – Meadows of Heaven
17. Nine Inch Nails – Survivalism
18. Pink Floyd – Stop
19. Placebo – In the Cold Light of Morning
20. Poets of the Fall – Passion Colors Everything
21. Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees
22. Rhapsody of Fire – Never Forgotten Heroes
23. Sabaton – The Price of a Mile
24. Soul Asylum – Runaway Train
25. Waltari+Angelit – Ballad (To the Glory of Your Nature)
26. Van Halen – I'll Wait
27. Wigwam – Häätö
28. Willie Nelson – Unchained Melody
29. Yö – Sininen planeetta
30. Zero Assoluto – Quello Che Mi Davi Tu

***

I would like to dare my brother, quuquu, to do the same. I’m pretty curious about his playlist though we live under the same roof and of course I could ask him personally. Go ahead and start writing journals in your profile!

I would like to thank Ofe for challenging me to do this, it was nice to use my brain a bit and think about the acceptable choises. <:

My Last.fm anniversary 6/29/2008, Sunday

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:40:49 +0000

So here I am now like exactly one year ago. Many things have changed in my life, I’ve done many new things, I’ve let go many old things but I’m still alive and there’s still one matter that haven’t changed or gone away or anything... and it’s music. I was into music then and I’m into music now and I will always be.

It’s been a fantastic year with all of you guys. I’ve got to know many buddies and I’ve got lot of new acquaintances and before all... I’ve had a chance to write in foreign languages, especially in English which is still my fave one. So let’s keep in touch in future, I’d still love to hear what’s up in your lives!

During the past year I’ve got so addicted to Last.fm that I couldn’t live without it anymore. I guess it’s time to take a look at the changes in my musical taste... here we go:

***

Which band was the best catch of the year?
'*' I could say that it was Muse. I just... I fell in love with them, that’s it. They make that kind of music that I love to listen to and never get tired of. But there are also some other fantastic bands like Pink Floyd and Rhapsody of Fire (though I found it like one week ago).

Which genre was the best catch of the year?
'*' Definitely classic rock! I also fell in love with fantasy and country and melodic death metal but classic rock is above all of them.

Which music video was the best catch of the year?
'*' 30 Seconds to Mars’ A Beautiful Lie. What a video! It spoke to me, it really did.

Which album was the best catch of the year?
'*' In Flames’ A Sense of Purpose. I’m sure I will never get tired of it, such a great one. Also Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother was a gorgeous catch.

Which song was the best catch of the year?
'*' There are so much awesome songs to pick up... but I’m going to end up with Gustavo Santaolalla’s The Wings!

Who was the most honorable musician of the year?
'*' Roger Waters from Pink Floyd, Chris Wolstenholme from Muse, Anders Fridén from In Flames and Willie Nelson.

Which event was the best experience of the year?
'*' Elämä lapselle 2007, my only event.

Which song was the worst one of the year?
'*' I have to admit... Soldier's Poem by Muse. The only Muse song I’ve never learnt to like. It’s so syrupy that I can’t even listen to it anymore.

Which album was the biggest disappointment?
'*' I guess it was Maroon 5’s It Won't Be Soon Before Long. The debut was so great that my expectation were too high.

So what kind of musical year did you spend?
'*' Very rewarding one! Good to go on now. I’ve learnt a lot but there’s still so much to learn.

***

Now I’m going to go and drink some English Breakfast. See you all around!

Three fave songs for every character of the alphabet

Mon, 5 May 2008 19:12:50 +0000

A

A Rush Of Blood To The Head (Coldplay)
Anarchy in Tokyo (30 Seconds to Mars)
All the Way / 4U (Poets of the Fall)

B

Buddha for Mary (30 Seconds to Mars)
Bliss (Muse)
Brothers and Sisters (Coldplay)

C

Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)
Creek Mary's Blood (Nightwish)
Cemetery Drive (My Chemical Romance)

D

Desert Song (My Chemical Romance
Disenchanted (My Chemical Romance)
Dream On (Deep Insight)

E

Every Breath You Take (The Police)
Echelon (30 Seconds to Mars)
Exo-Politics (Muse)

F

Friend of a Friend (Foo Fighters)
Feeling Good (Muse)
Follow The Cops Back Home (Placebo)

G

Ghost Love Score (Nightwish)
Get Busy (Guano Apes)
Ghost of Perdition (Opeth)

H

He Was A Friend Of Mine (Willie Nelson)
Higher Than Hope (Nightwish)
Hello (Evanescence)

I

I Never Told You What I Do for a Living (My Chemical Romance)
I Don't Know (Lostprophets)
If (Pink Floyd)

J

Jailer (The Rasmus)
Julia Dream (Pink Floyd)
Jigsaw Falling into Place (Radiohead)

K

Kevlar Soul (Kent)
Kumba Yo! (Guano Apes)
Knights of Cydonia (Muse)

L

Last of the Wilds (Nightwish)
Living in a Lie (Guano Apes)
Liquid (The Rasmus)

M

Metaphor (In Flames)
Magic Dance (David Bowie)
Mama (My Chemical Romance)

N

Not Like the Other Girls (The Rasmus)
Nobody Home (Pink Floyd)
Not Coming Home (Maroon 5)

O

Oblivion (30 Seconds to Mars)
Occam's Razor (30 Seconds to Mars)
Only (Sunrise Avenue)

P

Plug In Baby (Muse)
Psychosis (Poets of the Fall)
Paralyzed (The Used

Q

Quietly (Guano Apes)
?
?

R

R-Evolve (30 Seconds to Mars)
Runaway Train (Soul Asylum)
Roses (Poets of the Fall)

S

Swallowed in the Sea (Coldplay)
Sleeping With Ghosts (Placebo)
Still Standing (The Rasmus)

T

The Wings (Gustavo Santaolalla)
This Time Imperfect (AFI)
Til Kingdom Come (Coldplay)

U

Unendlichkeit (Tokio Hotel)
Unchained Melody (Willie Nelson)
Untitled 1 (Keane)

V

Vergessene Kinder (Tokio Hotel)
Valhalla (30 Seconds to Mars)
Vera (Pink Floyd)

W

Wellwell (The Rasmus)
Where Do We Draw the Line (Poets of the Fall)
Welcome to the Universe (30 Seconds to Mars)

X

X&Y (Coldplay)
?
?

Y

Yoga (Björk)
Yellow (Coldplay)
Your Eyes Open (Keane)

Z

?
?
?

Mainstream or not?

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 21:11:47 +0000

Take your top 25 artists and find out how many listeners they have.

***

1. 30 Seconds to Mars (410 554 listeners)
2. Muse (995 271 listeners)
3. Coldplay (1 266 805 listeners)
4. My Chemical Romance (663 520 listeners)
5. Nightwish (412 894 listeners)
6. Pink Floyd (940 263 listeners)
7. Foo Fighters (955 329 listeners)
8. Placebo (815 486 listeners)
9. Deep Insight (5 825 listeners)
10. Tokio Hotel (77 692 listeners)
11. Lostprophets (396 454 listeners)
12. Poets of the Fall (78 648 listeners)
13. Guano Apes (258 078 listeners)
14. The Rasmus (222 212 listeners)
15. Keane (604 052 listeners)
16. Nelly Furtado (693 493 listeners)
17. Maroon 5 (669 804 listeners)
18. Radiohead (1 281 303 listeners)
19. The Used (363 553 listeners)
20. In Flames (332 515 listeners)
21. Verenpisara (6 184 listeners)
22. Kent (142 833 listeners)
23. Sunrise Avenue (98 995 listeners)
24. David Bowie (853 702 listeners)
25. Yö (19 765 listeners)

***

Total listeners: 11 492 230

Divide by 25.

Average amount of listeners: 459 689,2

Divide by the number of Radiohead listeners (1 281 303): 0,3587669

Multiply by 100: 35,87669

... which means that I’m 36% mainstream. Wow.